British singer Boy George has withdrawn from the West End production of Jesus Christ Superstar after facing backlash over the release of a pro-Israel song, his manager confirmed.
The 65-year-old musician, whose real name is George Alan O'Dowd, will no longer appear as King Herod in the London Palladium production, which opens on Friday and runs through September 5.
The announcement came days after Boy George released We Will Dance Again, a song supporting Israel and its genocide in Gaza.
The lyrics include the lines, "you say genocide, I say war" and "when you're attacked, that's what the army's for."
AI-created song sparks criticism
Boy George said in a social media post that the track was created using artificial intelligence.
He also defended his use of the word "genocide" in the song during a post on Instagram Threads: "Why not put the word 'genocide' in a song. Why are people suddenly uncomfortable with that word?"
His manager, Paul Kemsley, said Boy George has "never been afraid to stand by his personal convictions" but that he decided to step aside so the production could remain the focus.
Boy George rose to international fame in the 1980s as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club, which is scheduled to begin a UK tour in December.
Since October 2023, Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and injured over 174,000 others, according to Palestinian authorities, who say most of the victims are women and children.
The authorities also say about 90 percent of the enclave's infrastructure has been destroyed.
